2026 Academy Awards Qualifying Film Festival List

Here is the Qualifying Film Festival List for the upcoming Academy Awards.

2026 Academy Awards Qualifying Film Festival List Top Entries

#121
The New Hampshire Film Festival (NHFF), launched in 2001 as the New Hampshire Film Expo, has grown into a flagship cultural event for New England.
#122
The New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF), founded in 1989 by the New Orleans Film Society, is an annual cultural celebration held every mid-October.
#123
The New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF), established in 1997 by Eric Beckman and Emily Shapiro, is North America’s largest film festival dedicated to young audiences.
#124
The Nordisk Panorama Film Festival, founded in 1990 by Filmkontakt Nord, is a leading annual event dedicated to showcasing Nordic short and documentary films.
#125
The Norwegian Short Film Festival (Kortfilmfestivalen) is Norway's largest and only Academy Award®-qualifying short film festival, showcasing Norwegian and international short films, documentaries, and music videos.
#126
The Odense International Film Festival (OFF), established in 1975, is Denmark’s oldest and most prestigious film festival dedicated exclusively to short films.
#127
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), founded in 1975 by the Canadian Film Institute, held its inaugural event in 1976, marking the first major animation festival in North America.
#128
Out On Film, founded in 1987 by Rebecca Ranson and other community leaders, is one of the oldest and most respected LGBTQIA+ film festivals in the United States.
#129
The Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, widely known as ShortFest, is an annual celebration of short films held in Palm Springs, California.
#130
The Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF), founded in 1992 by Danny Glover, Ja'net DuBois, and executive director Ayuko Babu, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting cultural understanding among people of African descent through the exhibition of films and arts.
#131
The David di Donatello Awards, founded in 1955 by Italo Gemini, stand as Italy’s most prestigious film honors, often referred to as the Italian equivalent of the Academy Awards.
#132
The Platino Awards, officially known as Premios Platino del Cine Iberoamericano, were established in 2013 to celebrate and promote excellence in Ibero-American cinema.
#133
The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF), founded in 1999, is a celebrated annual event held in Provincetown, Massachusetts, each June.
#134
The Raindance Film Festival, founded in 1992 by Elliot Grove, is the largest independent film festival in the UK, dedicated to showcasing and promoting independent films from around the world.
#135
The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series, founded in 1997 by African Voices magazine and Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus, is the first Brooklyn-based festival dedicated to supporting films produced, directed, and written by women of color.
#136
REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival, commonly referred to as REGARD, was founded in 1996 by Éric Bachand, a recent art graduate from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi.
#137
The Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, also known as Festival do Rio, is an annual event established in 1999.
#138
The RiverRun International Film Festival, founded in 1999, is an annual spring event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, showcasing a rich diversity of films from around the world.
#139
The Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), founded in 2002 by Floyd and Stephanie Rance, is an annual event held in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.
#140
The St Kilda Film Festival, founded in 1983, is Australia’s longest-running short film festival and a premier event for celebrating Australian short films.

2026 Academy Awards Qualifying Film Festival List Top Entries

#101
The Israeli Television Academy Awards, established in 2003, celebrate excellence in Israel’s television industry.
#102
The Izmir International Short Film Festival is one of Turkey's premier platforms for showcasing short films from around the globe.
#103
The Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF), founded in 1984 by Lia Van Leer, is one of Israel's premier international film events, held annually in Jerusalem.
#104
The Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival (IDFF) is a leading annual event held every October in Jihlava, Czech Republic.
#105
The José Ignacio International Film Festival (JIIFF), founded in 2011, is a celebrated annual event in José Ignacio and Pueblo Garzón, Uruguay.
#106
Kaboom Animation Festival, established in 2019 through the merger of KLIK Amsterdam Animation Festival and Holland Animation Film Festival, is the Netherlands' foremost event dedicated to celebrating the art of animation.
#107
The Kraków Film Festival is one of Europe’s oldest film events, spotlighting documentary, animated, and short feature films, held annually in Kraków, Poland.
#108
The LA Shorts International Film Festival, founded in 1997 by Robert Arentz, is one of the largest and longest-running short film festivals in the world.
#109
The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF), established in 1987, is the largest film festival in England outside of London.
#110
The Kortfilmfestival Leuven, established in 1995, is Belgium's leading short film festival, held annually in the historic city of Leuven.
#111
Founded in 1946, the Locarno Film Festival has long been a cornerstone of European cinema. Known for its eclectic programming, the festival features feature-length narratives, documentaries, shorts, avant-garde works, and retrospectives, offering a platform for diverse cinematic voices.
#112
The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF), founded in 1983 by Visual Communications, is Southern California’s largest film festival showcasing films by and about Asians and Pacific Islanders.
#113
The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) was established in 1997 by actor Edward James Olmos and co-founders Marlene Dermer, Kirk Whisler, and George Hernandez.
#114
The Manchester Animation Festival (MAF), established in 2015, is the UK's largest event dedicated to the art of animation.
#115
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), established in 1952, is one of the world’s oldest film festivals, following Venice (1932), Cannes (1939), and Berlin (1951).
#116
The Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, originally known as Warsaw Doc Review, was founded in 2004 and has grown to become Poland's largest documentary film festival.
#117
The Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), founded in 2003, is an annual event held in the second week of October in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.
#118
Mountainfilm, founded in 1979 in Telluride, Colorado, is an annual documentary film festival held every Memorial Day weekend.
#119
The Movies that Matter Festival, initially known as the Amnesty International Film Festival, is an annual international film and debate event held in The Hague.
#120
The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), originally founded as the Sinking Creek Film Celebration in 1969, is one of the United States' oldest and most respected film festivals.

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